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Saturday, January 30, 2010

For those who recognize, YES, those are Savage Garden lyrics. It was the only song I could think of that had the word CRASH in it, which refers to, you guessed it, the inevitable crash I experienced today after the wonderful productivity of yesterday.

I stayed up too late talking to my boyfriend and also my best friend, who's in India and so I have to work around her time zone whenever we talk. I miss her so much! Anyway, back to the point, I then slept til 3 pm, had ridiculous dreams, finally woke up... only to then take a nap around 6 pm and sleep through dinner til about 8. As my 14-year-old sister might say... fail. Major fail.

But, really, as crashes go, this was one of the best possible scenarios, and that's what I'm grateful for today. I got a lot done yesterday, so there wasn't too much pressure, and it snowed all day today, so it's not like I could have gone anywhere anyway. I have tomorrow to pick up the pieces, and I did manage to get some medical forms filled out and sent away, so that makes me feel better. I'm seeing a doctor on Tuesday who specializes in Lyme disease, and I finally applied to see this different doctor who specializes in chronic fatigue syndrome. My immunologist recommended I contact her, and my mom's been giggling all week at my excuse for not doing so-- that I'm too fatigued to email the chronic fatigue doctor!

I'm a praying sort, and my prayers are with all of you this week-- every person has their own burden to bear, and I know a lot of you are struggling under the weight of yours. I pray that God give you the strength to endure, that there is something to be gained from your situation, and that you are returned to a more hopeful and happy place in your life very, very soon!

Friday, January 29, 2010

In Methodist churches (and others I'm sure, but this is where I've experienced it), they have a time during the service where church members offer up prayers and praises to the congregation. I have a major praise today: I had a busy day today!

It started with a little mix-up at my doctor's office that caused me to get up at 8:30 this morning for an appointment that is now this Tuesday. Oops. (It was a problem with their automated reminder system-- it had misinformed me). I briefly considered going back to sleep because I was so tired, but instead, at my mom's nudging, I drank some coffee and got to work brainstorming and working on some journalism assignments. After that, I guess momentum kept me going, followed by adrenaline, because I managed to work all day today. I did homework, answered emails, made important phone calls, put away my laundry, and cleaned my room and bathroom. Seriously-- this was a busy day, I dare say even for a well person, and most DEFINITELY for a chronicall fatigued person. Of course, I had to take numerous rests, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I didn't push myself too hard and end up crashing tomorrow... but still, I got a lot done, and the peace of mind that produced might just be worth a potential crash tomorrow. Providing that it doesn't last more than just Saturday, that is.

I wish someone (with more experience in psychology than me) would write something on different personality types and chronic illness, though I suppose that it's really not easy no matter who you are. Anyway, I read a book a couple of months back called Do What You Are. It's fantastic, by the way, if you're still looking for that perfect career path. Anyway, they use the Meyer-Briggs personality test, and I’m an ENFP, which stands for enigmatic-intuitive-feeling-perceptive. The individual components of that aren’t really important for my point, but the overall description describes people with my personality type as enthusiastic “people-people” with boundless energy.
You’re probably starting to get my drift about now.
Of course, I WISH I had limitless energy. Doesn’t everyone? But it is an odd conundrum, isn’t it, when your personality would lead you to multitask and over-schedule in a way that is absolutely detrimental to one’s health?
Well, I mention it because, as I told a house guest tonight, I used my energy today to be “as type A as possible.” I framed pictures, I dusted surfaces, I reorganized closets, I folded my underwear… I got everything exactly the way I like it.
So I may be exhausted… but I know I’ll sleep well tonight in my oh-so-perfectly laid out, organized room. :)
Good night, everyone! Good luck with your own journeys, and thanks for reading my minor success story.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

However, I wanted to stop by, mostly because I haven't blogged since the 1st of November! Don't worry, I haven't abandoned the project; life just got in the way. Between sickness, the holidays, and my computer being busted until today (hallelujah! I am truly a child of the digital age), there was simply no blogging to be had. Oh, I also attempted to take part in National Novel Writing Month during November, during which a bunch of fanatic writers attempt to write a whole novel (50,000 words or more) during November. Unfortunately, I didn't finish, but it was still good fun, and I have every intention of getting back to that poor, lonely, unfinished manuscript... any day now...

I've also been medically busy, per usual. I'm pursuing a doctor who specializes in chronic fatigue, chronic Lyme, and things like that; I'm looking into a possible Lyme diagnosis; and I've even been trying out a, get this, magnetic bed the past couple of weeks. I kid you not. I met a lady with a similar condition who has had fantastic results with it. It was worth a try, but I'm sad to report that I don't notice that much change. Actually, my sleep has been a little poorer because it's become a bit uncomfortable. Well, c'est la vie. Always worth a try! I'm still interested in alternative therapies, and I'm looking into finding a nutritionist to help me craft a better diet. I really don't eat that well, if I'm honest with myself, and I've always gotten away with it because I'm young and have a good metabolism. But there's so much more to good nutrition than weight management, and I really think I would benefit from learning more about eating the right foods to increase energy and overall health. So I'll let you all know how that goes.

I have way more to say, but I'm going to save it for later this week and just leave you all with my last big piece of news: I'm going back to school this semester! It's VERY part-time (2 classes, once a week each), and it's local, so I can continue to live at home, which tends to make things easier for me, having a built-in support system for when I relapse. I'm pretty nervous about it (and about paying it and all the extra anxiety-producers that go into schooling), but I'm hopeful too, and excited to be taking another step toward graduation, independence, adulthood...